akron general, room 5424

so mom has been moved to one of the main floors of the hospital - a nice, private room at akron general #5424.

i received a call this morning from the ICU doctor saying her condition had worstened. while she's off the respirator, her breathing has been very difficult. while steroids and inhalants and antibiotics and all can help, the doctor said the problem is more with her ventilation - the ability to expel carbon dioxide - something that is not a good sign.

she has been very clear with bill and me about what sort of measures she wants to undertake for her health. she retiterated a few times today to doctor kakarala that she does not want any extraneous means to keep her alive. the first thing she said when i saw her yesterday was that she really didn't like all these tubes and needles and everything. so she's resting comfortably, taking morphine for pain and atavan for anxiety. while this is extraordinarliy difficult as you might imagine, we know that this is what she wants.

when she came to this morning, bill and i asked her if she wanted some visitors and she nodded yes. so we made a few calls and before you know it, billy dannemiller, noel and beth, gibby, and uncle tom all stopped by. she really rallied and was quite coherent and talkative. father karg stopped by and said some prayers. a chaplain from the hospital gave her holy communion. mom chatted with dorothy and ed senior on the phone. unlce eddie had her laughing. joanne and i think denise, who are visitin ed in the desert. larry and maggie are back in michigan, and they called in to chat as well. lisa stopped by this evening for a visit, and bill and i have fielded lots of calls from all of you and passed on your thoughts and prayers.

it's almost 9pm and bill and i are here with mom. she's resting peacefully, sleeping a bit, waking a bit to chat. she wanted a hot dog with ketchup and mustard, so i ran out to swensens and picked her one up. she ate a few bites and enjoyed it very much.

she's actually on the phone now with katie remembering all the fun and stories.

thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. i know my mom has been happy to hear about all of you.

with love.

tom.